Cinnamon Raisin Bread (2024)

Making No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread at home is incredibly easy...possibly too easy to be honest. Warm out of the oven, sliced and smeared with salted butter, this bread is my family's new favorite breakfast.

Easy Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Making Easy No-Knead Bread has become a regular occurrence in our house. I proof my dough in the morning and we eat fresh homemade bread for dinner dipped in soups and chili. It's been a complete game changer! So I figured, if I can make easy homemade bread, I can turn that recipe into a sweet cinnamon raisin version. Why not?

Rustic Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I love this recipe because it results in a rustic loaf unlike the super sweet pastry style loafs you often see. This Cinnamon Raisin Bread is studded with plenty of raisins and cinnamon but also still has a hearty flavor to it. The incredible crust developed from baking in a dutch oven is crunchy and satisfying while the inside is soft and pillowy. It's really the perfect breakfast loaf.

Ingredients in Cinnamon Raisin Bread

• All-Purpose Flour – the best thing about this bread recipe is that it calls for AP Flour! No specialty bread flour required.
• Salt – regular old table salt does the trick.
• Active Dry Yeast – I use Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast, not instant or rapid rise for this recipe.
• Water – good old tap water works just fine.
• Whole Milk – this is going to be mixed with water so I like the richness of whole milk.
• Raisins - can't have cinnamon raisin bread without them!
• Brown Sugar - most recipes call for white sugar but I like the flavor of brown.
• Cinnamon - just enough to flavor the bread.

Dutch Oven Bread

This bread is very easy to make and doesn't require any specialty equipment aside from a basic Dutch oven. If you don't own a Dutch oven, it is one of my essential kitchen tools and the best investment. A good Dutch oven will last a lifetime and is perfect for making soups and stews, chili and even bread! The smallest Dutch oven you will want to use for this recipe is a 4 ½ qt however I've even used my large 9 qt and it works too. If you are in the market, Easy No-Knead Bread

Tips for Proofing No-Knead Bread

1. Plan Ahead - calculate the entire time it will take you to proof and when you want to bake and eat this bread before you begin! It will take an entire 9 hours to proof (total) plus an additional 45 minutes to bake.
2. Warm Spot - find a warm spot to proof your dough. You don't want a cold drafty area or direct sun! I usually proof right on my kitchen countertop beside my stove and it works fine.
3. Cover tightly - When proofing you want to cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap so that no air can get in and dry out your dough. For the second proof, you will want to cover completely with a light weight dish towel. Don't use anything that will deposit fuzz however. I like cotton or linen for this.

Can I Refrigerate Bread Dough?

You sure can! If you need more time before baking, you can proof your dough for the first 8 hours, form and then refrigerate! Chilling the dough will retard the development of the yeast and give you more time. It also results in a more complex flavor! Here's how to do it:

1. Prep dough and proof for the first 8 hours at room temperature per the directions.
2. Form dough into a loaf and place in a shallow dish (like a pie pan) covered in plastic wrap in your refrigerator. I have refrigerated up to 10 hours and it worked great.
3. Transfer chilled dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment paper on your countertop, cover with a dish towel and let it proof on the countertop for 1 hour while you preheat the oven and dutch oven.
4. Bake as instructed!

How to Make Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1. Dry Ingredients – in a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, and raisins. Hold off on the cinnamon.
2. Liquid – combine milk and water and heat in the microwave or on the stovetop just until luke warm, do not overheat. Slowly pour in the lukewarm mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until you have a “shaggy dough” using a wooden spoon.
3. Cinnamon - Sprinkle in the cinnamon and quickly cut it into the dough with a rubber spatula or knife. You want it roughly distributed.
4. Proof – cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to proof for 8 hours. In a warm spot out of direct sun and away from a draft. Don’t overthink it, your kitchen counter will be perfect.
5. Form – on a large square of parchment paper dusted in flour, turn the proofed dough out and quickly fold it a few times until you have a round dome. You will want to tuck the dough under itself to form a round loaf shape. This doesn’t have to be perfect!
6. Proof Again – cover with a tea towel and proof an additional hour.
7. Preheat – while the dough proofs, preheat your oven with the Dutch oven inside.
8. Score – cut a shallow X in the top of your proofed dough using a sharp knife to create a pretty pattern in your loaf.
9. Bake – CAREFULLY remove the Dutch oven and quickly transfer your proofed dough into the pot, parchment paper and all. Just pick up the four corners of your paper and plop the entire thing into the hot pot. Return the lid (using gloves of course) and place it back into the oven for 30 minutes.
10. Brown – Remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes to crisp up the crust and brown the top. NOTE: if you loaf is looking too dark on top, you can return the lid and bake. This additional 15 minutes is essential in baking the bread all the way through so don't skip it.
11. Cool – Remove the pot from the oven and use a spatula to transfer the bread to a cooling rack. Cool 15 minutes or up to 30 minutes before slicing.

Once your loaf has cooled it's time to slice it, spread with salted butter, and enjoy! This Cinnamon Raisin Bread is delicious for breakfast with cream cheese but it would also make a great addition to any brunch. The twins couldn't keep their hand off of this loaf as I was photographing. I don't think I've ever seen Millie eat this much bread!

More Easy Bread Recipes

• Easy No-Knead Bread
• The Best Sour Cream Banana Bread
• Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I hope your family will love this easy No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread as much as mine does. Our first loaf went very quickly (in one day) so I made another. Be prepared to turn into a bread factory once you experience how easy it is to make this style of bread at home!

No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 9 hours

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours 55 minutes

Easy No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread made in a Dutch Oven!

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Place the flour, salt, yeast, brown sugar, and raisins in a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine water and milk and heat briefly until luke warm. You can either do this in a small sauce pan over low heat or in a heatproof glass measuring cup in the microwave for a few seconds. It should be lukewarm to the touch but not hot.
3. Add luke warm mik mixture to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it forms a shaggy dough. The dough will be very rough, not at all smooth.
4. Sprinkle dough with 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and use a spatula to roughly "cut" the cinnamon through the dough. You want it distributed but not completely mixed in.
5. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise on the counter for 8 hours.Make sure you place the bowl in a warm place, away from any drafty windows or direct sun. The dough should doubled in size and become bubbly after 8 hours.
6. Once the dough has proofed, turn it out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Quickly turn the dough over a few times, shaping it into a round loaf. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour more.
7. PRE-HEAT OVEN! 30 minutes before the dough is finished proofing, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a Dutch Oven (with lid) inside to heat on the center rack.
8. Using the parchment paper to lift, carefully transfer the dough (still on the paper) to the preheated Dutch oven. If desired, score the top of the dough with a sharp knife so that the bread can expand while baking. This isn't necessary but it makes a loaf pretty!
9. Use oven mitts to cover and bake for 30 minutes.Careful, the lid is very hot!
10. Remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes more to brown and crisp up the crust. If the loaf is looking too brown you can keep it covered for part of this time.
11. Carefully remove the bread to a cooking rack and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes but up to 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Tips for Proofing No-Knead Bread

1. Plan Ahead– calculate the entire time it will take you to proof and when you want to bake and eat this bread before you begin! It will take an entire 9 hours to proof (total) plus an additional 45 minutes to bake.
2. Warm Spot– find a warm spot to proof your dough. You don’t want a cold drafty area or direct sun! I usually proof right on my kitchen countertop beside my stove and it works fine.
3. Cover tightly– When proofing you want to cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap so that no air can get in and dry out your dough. For the second proof, you will want to cover completely with a light weight dish towel. Don’t use anything that will deposit fuzz however. I like cotton or linen for this.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 257Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 544mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 6g

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